visual spatial skills

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I was looking at my iq test results back from 2006. The results are scattered all over the place. My visual-spacial skills and matrix reasoning abilities were rated "well above the 99th percentile" while in certain subjects I scored mentally ret*d. Overall my IQ rounded out to 122. Heres what Im wondering though. I read most people with aspergers have trouble with visual spacial skills and people with classic autism have excellent visual spacial skills. Is this accurate or just something somebody wrote on the internet? However I didnt have speech delay which is the difference of aspergers and kanners. Is there even other differences between them? Im kind of in between the two though it seems. My worst performance was the wisconsin card sorting test and my best was matrix reasoning test out of all the many tests they gave me.

It is accurate in a general sense.

Spatialty testing topic

I envy you. I am actually a visual thinker but my spatial skills are only average. I have concluded that my visual reasoning is not measurable using neurotypical tests. Perhaps your verbal-logical-mathematical reasoning cannot be measured neurotypically.

Just a thought. Perhaps you could speak to a vocational counsellor about this.

Last edited by sartresue on 10 May 2010, 10:04 am, edited 1 time in total.

I for one have amazing visual spacial skills. I think it's because all of my thoughts are in pictures, which makes math completely impossible (and I'm not exaggerating) but it makes anything requiring picturing thinking come easily.

I do know that both my boyfriend and I (and according to him, basically everyone on the spectrum) score strangely on IQ tests like that.
My boyfriend had an official IQ test for a TMS study done that took several hours, and his overall score was 146, but it's because he scored unbelievably high in some areas, and under 60 in others hahaha.
I've never taken such a detailed one, but mine is 132 and I always score super high in some areas and super low in others as well.

I would second Poke's response to what you read. I have not been officially diagnosed with Asperger's or any other ASD. But according to the results of all my psychological evaluations, I fit the general pattern of individuals with nonverbal learning disability.
There are many professionals who consider NVLD to be one and the same with Asperger's.


Whatever the case, my own IQ results are very similiar to those of many people with Asperger's. With the exception of arithmetic, (which has always tested in the average-high average range) my verbal subtests are always either in the very superior, superior, or above average range. My performance subtests are anywhere from above-average on digit-symbol coding to impaired on object assembly. I consistently score either low average or borderline on the block design subtest. Depending on the particular psych eval/IQ test, ( i've had six in my life so far) my full scale IQ was lower than your own on one at 94 and higher on another at 143. All my other FSIQ scores were 112, 112, 116 and 120.

My scores on the matrix reasoning subtest have been anywhere from low average to superior depending on the IQ test. I've always scored squarely within the average range (100-102) on the Raven's Progressive Matrices.

Insofar as the Wisconsin Card Sorting test is concerned, only one psych eval i've had included the results of that though I know i've taken it on others. I scored in the average range on that, though close to low average in the 30th percentiles. That's a test of executive functioning, though i'm not sure what aspect of executive functioning it's supposed to measure.


In any case.....my own IQ results are very similar to those of many people with AS/NVLD. In the real world....i'm pretty terrible at visual-spatial things at least when it comes to anything involving mechanical reasoning. I can't assemble jigsaw puzzles, fix or build just about anything or draw, paint, sculpt, etc.....While i'm not good at any type of math...math with a strong visual-spatial component (geometry/Trig) seems impossible for me.

So much to my dismay.....I at least feel mentally ret*d when it comes to just about anything involving visual-spatial skills.

I would say much of it has to do with A) the amount of detail you comprehend, coupled with B) the level of "big picture" you're able to see while still being zoomed in to the tiny things. Some people are just too zoomed-in to be able to step back far enough to see everything at once (often times including myself), and that's when scores suffer even though it has nothing to do with mental capacity.

In my IQ test I hit the 99.9th percentile in Visual Spatial, which makes sense because I can drive inspectors at my work crazy with all the minor issues I point out in something the company made, many of which they literally don't see, period. That's only possible though because I amplify details to such an extent that my big picture abilities suffer, IE: When I did the Arithmetic section of the test, my score dropped to the 87th percentile, which is still decent I guess, but a major low compared to anything I did involving visuals and puzzles. The weird part is HOW the score dropped- Apparently I sucked it up on the easiest questions, and the harder they got, the better I did, because my interest in detail causes me to wayyyyy over-complicate things, and a harder question has already been somewhat "pre-complicated" from the get go; It's like getting my questions pre-shrunk :p


If you find that thinking about an entire project at once is practically impossible, while simotaneously knowing that no one but yourself could pull off doing certain detailed areas of that same project to perfection, then you fall right into the category I do, and it just means you are permanently "zoomed in" on whatever you're doing. As with a camera lense, being ultra-focused like that means you physically can't take in a whole lot of what surrounds your current focal point, but you also gain a huge advantage over most people in that your level of detail-intake leaves you with an ability to perfect things at a level that most people literally can't even comprehend. Work with this ability and you could do big things with it. There are a lot of companies out there that need someone who is that stuck on detail, and because focus like that naturally requires you to be something of a space-cadet, most HR departments will happily work with some minor setbacks in order to take advantage of your freak level of detail comprehension.

My IQ test was the same as yours on the visual spatial...I think I missed one question. Its what pushed my score up to 123. I was diagnosed as Aspergers a few years ago but my doctor says if I would have been born now I probably would have been diagnosed as Autistic, even though I was not as speech delayed as my youngest daughter, I did have a delay, an odd sort of stuttering (would repeat a word over and over like a skipping record until someone would tell me to stop) and I did and still use a lot "scripting". I had no therapy and was just pushed through school. I spent most of my first three years of school hiding under desks, and wetting my pants because I didnt know how or when to ask to go. Still today I seem more Aspie than Autie.

My visual-spatial skills are better than my language skills, as well.

this is so interesting I forgot what the OP asked. Math makes me frantic. I don't enjoy it for it's own sake but I really love physics and I barely passed it in high school because even though I would understand the equations I would always make some minute error somewhere in the calculation (ironically I got an A in my 101 class in college and scored the highest grade on the final in that class...the professor really loved it & was carrying on a 'bringing physics to the masses' crusade I think, he really dumbed it down, even let us round of 9.80 meters / sec squared to 10.0. to make it easier on everyone, lol). I would give anything to be able to do the kind of complex math that really understanding theoretical physics requires. I loathe visual spatial questions, I probably score mentally ret*d on those problems.

I fear math too, or at least I'm not a natural mathleet like some of my friends. But I've always loved physics and computer logic. I spent college attempt # 1 avoiding math like the plague, so I could finish only with a BA -- just something to put on my resume to apply to dot-Com jobs that were all the rage.
But 3 years ago, I decided to change my career: I would force myself to be a mathematician. I sold off a huge library filled with computer and engineering textbooks (history, language, economics, too.), and repopulated it completely with math books.
Since then, with a year off and then after part-time work, I've studied/obsessed over everything applied math has to offer. But, I didn't do it in the regular fashion of learning one book before the next in order. Instead, I chose to go right to the end first, learn what I can do with the end result, pick something that interests me (dynamic Bayesian processes, computational fluid dynamics, etc.), and then go backwards down to the earlier books reading only the ones that I need. This has made my education much more fun, and since I can obsess over whatever field I'm studying that day, I find that I can make my time productive as well.
The only consequence is that I'm not fully capable of taking regular classes in my new college attempt # 2: I'm either too advanced or haven't seen the coursework before and can't motivate myself to learn the material. I'm either get an A+ with no effort or a C- with excruciating work. If I was smarter, I would have taken the classes at a slower rate so that I could guarantee that I had prepared for everything beforehand.
But where I am now, I'm within striking distance of Quantum Field Theory, which includes the super-positional theories-of-everything that the greatest minds on earth are working.
When I'm done in a couple years, I'll be able to talk shop with theoretical physicists. Now that's something I'm giddy about.

Perhaps you can learn something from this. It might just be possible to find a way to force your attention to a topic you enjoy. Study independently, ignoring the "standard" way of learning and try to get to the far side as easily as you can. Perhaps it could work for you as well as it has for me.

AdmiralCrunch, what exactly is the process for getting into Quantum Physics, if that sort of mindset and way of thinking is something that just "makes sense" to me, and I have a solid genius level IQ in visual spatial, matrix reasoning, and problem solving (scored 145, but I can easily top 150 now, as I was recovering from a bit of a rough stretch at the time I took it) backing me up? I work for an Aerospace bearing manufacturer on the factory floor, but they are currently giving me the option to do many years of engineering school on a free ride in exchange for a career in creative engineering there; I would love to do this and would no doubt enjoy it as a career, but the current worldwide leap of my biggest love, which is the make up of the universe right down to the atomic level, is really making me want to get into that field before it's too late. I'm not the greatest at math because I tend to over-complicate simple equations, but my ability to connect obscure patterns and details is at the very least on par with anyone I've ever met, and I'm constantly putting together theories on the universe in my head at an obsessive level

Is the field of Quantum Physics something one can study on the side of Creative/Mechanical Engineering? Can I do both, or would that not be physically possible? I really don't want to lose the opportunity for a full-ride scholarship in engineering, especially with a steady job waiting for me at graduation, but I feel like I'm stuck in a cage right now without any way to expand on the world's knowledge of how everything is connected, and it's getting a bit frustrating. Thanks in advance for any input you might have

When my husband suggested that I had Asperger's I told him that it was impossible because I did so horrible in math. I thought that was a requirement or something. What can I say, I was ignorant. I can do simple math....but algebra and anything beyond makes no sense to me at all. I had some tutors in school but actually taught myself by visualizing dice. I actually didnt do too bad on the math part of the IQ test until it got really complicated but I was surprised that I did ok. In high school they told me I had dyscalculia. I did reverse numbers 27 was 72 and I still sometimes catch myself doing it but I do fine now. My husband is the math wiz and I think my 5 year old got his brain...she is pretty obsessed with numbers. When he was in school they would accuse him of cheating because he did not show his work, he would just put the answer....but he pointed out to them that he had no one to cheat from considering he was the first one done!

I actually do OK on the "arithmetic" subtest on WAIS. I usually score within the average to high average range on it.


But.....when it comes to "higher math" like algebra and trig.......I think some of the performance subtests (especially Block Design and perhaps Matrix Reasoning as well) are more meaningful indicators of one's capacity than the arithmetic subtest.

I've scored anywhere from low average to superior on Matrix Reasoning. I ALWAYS crap out on Block Design with borderline to low average scores


What's worse is that I think block design is supposed to be the most "G-loaded" ("general intelligence") subtest on the entire WAIS.

That just might mean i'm pretty damn stupid overall

my aspie nephew and I are both visual / spatial thinkers. he has all the official assessments and diagnosis backing it up, i do not, but i think we have the same sort of thing going on. except he's smarter than me.

i absolutely (and almost exclusively) think in pictures. in school i struggled with reading comprehension but did geometry in my sleep.

i was wondering about this as well - what's the difference between HFA and AS? some say none, some say HFA is Kanner's autism and a requirement for diagnosis is delay in speech acquisition. i read HFA was a right-brain impairment while AS was a left brain impairment. i don't know if any of this is true. no language delay for either me or my nephew.

i think inconsistency in scoring on an IQ test indicates some sort of impairment, rather than a lack of intellectual ability.

I think it is a poor generalization to divide visual spatial thinkers into Autistic vs. AS. People on the spectrum will more often have enhanced visuospatial skills above that of the general population. But then there are also enough folks on the spectrum who have a clear deficit. And those who are simply average.

Both auties and aspies are more likely to have a talent in said area, beyond that of the general population. But we may also be more likely to have a deficit in the area, e.g., Nonverbal Learning Disorder. But I wouldn't break it up into "HFAs have good visuospatial skills, Aspies have poor."

I dont think I have a dominate side of my brain. I took some online tests and one was perfectally in the middle, one said im right brained, one said left brained. I would imagine most people have some traits of both and the opposite of the traits their missing. Tests have always been inconclusive with me.